Indoor golf putting practice apparatus



Nov. 9, 194a;

INDOOR GOLF PUTTING PRACTICE APPARATUS Filed March 19, 1947 r I LEON C.THOMAS L. c. THOMAS 2,453,605

2 Sheets-Shet l Nov, 9, 1948.

INDOOR GOLF PUTTING PRACTICE APPARATUS Filed March 19, 1947 2Sheets-Sheet 2 LEON C.THOMAS FIG-5 V L. c. THOMAS 2,453,605

"Ihi-s" invention relates to an indoor golf putting'practice apparatuswhich may, be placed with a portion thereof extending underneath oneBClaims.

edge of arug or carpet which will imitate the surrac of a putting greenso that a person may practice putting in the living room; drawing room-and the like.

'It'is *an-"objectof this invention to provide an apparatus having asloping pointed portion adapted to be inserted underneath ruglor acarpet and having'an adjustable member which can be adjusted so that itsupper surface of its frontedge will coincide with the upper surface ofthe edge of the carpet, rug and the like,

andaha'ving an opening utherethrough, through iiiwhichiaiproperlydirected golf ball will fall. The "adjustable member having the holetherethrough (is supported byia pair *trating these side members is: asuitable cordlor of side members and=penethe like having weights on thefree ends thereof lumen;

con TIN, PRA it APPARATUS employed. l The sheet jmemberr23:isipreferably one edge of a ip which may be directed outwardly at anangle on i each side of the putting practice apparatus so as to catchmisdirected golf balls and prevent their rolling to other parts of theroom.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an isometric view of theapparatus showing it disassociated from the edge of the rug;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 2-2 inFigurel and showing the edge of the rug in position in dotted lines;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a tran verse sectional view taken along the line 44 inFigure 1;

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken through one of the weight members andshowing the manner of fastening the cord thereto.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral I 0 indicatesone of the side frame members while I I indicates the other side framemember. The forward ends of these members I'll and I I slope to a pointand have a board or sheet metal member IZsecured thereto by any suitablemeans such as flush top screws [3. The lower edges of the members and IIportion of their breadth into which is fitted the ends of a platelikemember I5, which is secured in position by any suitable means. Thisconstitutes the framework of the apparatus. Penetrating the members Itand H are bolts l6 and II which also penetrate bars I8 andl9 and havesuitable thumb nuts and 2| respectively on their outer ends for holdingthe bars I'8 and I9 :The .fioorrline on which the indicated by referencepcharacter 30.;suBenetrating thearearaends of members, l0 and HT:isagzcq fd Jill in 1 adj usted position relative to the meinbers I0 andH1: i U 13 The bars l8 andlllhave securedon theiupper surface thereof asheetmemberf23 whichzmayibe of plywood, 'r'netal, plastic: or :anyAotherysuitable materials This sheetwmember :23 is rsecuredw to themembers l8 andJB' byany suitablegmeanssuch as gluing, or flushtop*screws orrinails 251 may cbe covered by a fabric -.26 T byxhaving thesameglhed to the upper surfa'ce thfiliBOfT/Mthflllgh"this,fabri'cisomitted inrFigurel. 1;, 1, l

Thersheet member 23salsoha alholei .there,- in through; whichiatheiigolfballssmayi fall; when they are properly ,dire'ctedg; inoputting-kpractice. apparatus rests is suchasarope 3| which is flexible and on thevfree ends thereof are secured weight or block members 33 and 34. Theseblock members 33 and 34 may be secured to the free ends of the cord 3|by any suitable means, preferably, by forming a hole 35 are countersunkfor a i like member therein and inserting the free end of the rope orcord 3| therein and securing the same by glue or any other suitableagency.

The edge of a rug or carpet is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 byreference character 36. When it is desired to use the apparatus, thefront ends of the members l0 and H are inserted be: neath the edge of arug or carpet 36 and the edge of the rug or carpet lies flush with therear edge of the sheet or board member l2. Then the thumb nuts 20 and 2|are loosened and the sheet- 23 is adjusted so that the, top surface ofthe front edge will coincide with the top surface of the carpet or rug36. The apparatus is now ready for use and the player will stand at 1some distance on the carpet and direct golf balls by putting the sametoward the hole 21. The

balls which are properly directed will roll up the inclined carpet orrug 36 and across the surface of the sheet member 23 and will fall intothe hole 21. They will fall onto the floor but will be confined againstrolling elsewhere by the cord 3|, side members In and II, and by thefront edge of the board or sheet member l2 which is low enough to thefloor 30 to prevent the golf balls from rolling forwardly. Also, even ifthe distance were suificient for the golf balls to roll forwardly, thecarpet or rug would prevent this hapdirected properly and even if theyshould miss the apparatus, will pass to the right or to the left of theapparatus and will be engaged by the outwardly flaring porthe boardtions of the cord 3| and will thus be arrested and will not be allowedto roll wildly over the room.

It is thus seen that I have provided a golfputting apparatus which canbe used indoors, which can be used in association with a carpet or rugif desired, or by projecting the board l2 down to the floor line andadjusting the rear'edge of I! to be flush with the front edge of thesheet; or board 23, the ap ar tus could be used without the aid ofacarpet or rug if desired,

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are e-mployed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being I claim:

1. In a golf putting apparatus, a pair of bars disposed in spacedrelation to each other, means secured between the bars for holding themin fixed-relatioma pair of. bars pivotally secured on the proximatesurfaces of the first two bars and having a sheet membensecured to theirupper surfaces, the lateral edges of thesheet member overlapping theupper .edges of the two first- :named bars, the, sheet member having ahole j therethrough one end of the first-named bars 'beipgsloped'tmapoint. and adapted to be inserted eneath the edgeofa carpet, rug and thelike and Ia ifiexible membersecured to the rear ends of the twofirst-named bars: and'having anchoring members secured to the free. endsthereof sothat the -flexiblel member .may be extended laterally on 'eachside of the giolf-putting'device and in s aced relation tothe frontportion thereof.

" '2. A golf-putting: apparatus "comprising a -framework,-a sheethmember.pivotally mounted uinwthe framework and being adjustable at its definedin the claims.

frontfedgerelative tothe framework and having a hole therethroughthrough which golf balls may drop, the f r ont end of the frameworksloping to a point and being adapted to be inserted beneath the edge ofa carpet, rug and the like, the sheet member being adjustable relativeto the framework so as to cause its front edge to coincide with the edgeof the carpet, rug and the like, and a flexible member secured to therear portion of the framework and havingritsfre'eends projectmgforwardly and in divergingrelation to the front end of the framework.

3. In a golf putting practice apparatus, a

framework having an inclined surface at one end thereof up whichprojected golf balls are adapted to roll and onto which one edge of arug may be placed, a sheet member disposed over the framework having itsfront edge in close proximity to the rear edge of the inclined surfaceand said sheet member being provided with a hole through which ballsrolling up the inclined surface onto t e he memb r ma ;,fa. .meansiorprete l ri o inaihe heet embe e. am work or ad ustin th he ghtoftbdiireht ede l i t he t member e a e. to, th fra wor so; tha

ts runne su ac wil b f e h Wi h-th pe u ac o the u dispos d 9 the incined surface.

LEON csrfiouhs.

REFERENCE Cl A The following references are of-record in the file ofthis patent? MIE STATES, PATENTS @Date Number I Name r 1,544,380Edmonston June 3051925 1,558,767 Smith Oct.z27, 1925 2,144,439 Duffy r-Jan, M14939

